2007 John F. Kennedy Library Forums

Presidential Courage | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
December 9, 2007
Against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential campaign, historian Michael Beschloss discusses his new book, Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America 1789-1989. Al Hunt of Bloomberg News moderates.

The Nixon Presidency | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
December 4, 2007
David Eisenhower, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the son-in-law of President Nixon; David Greenberg, a historian at Rutgers University; and Ray Price, speechwriter to President Nixon, discuss President Nixon's legacy with Ellen Fitzpatrick, a historian at the University of New Hampshire. This forum is part of the Library's series examining 20th-century presidents.

Remembering Julia Child | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
November 20, 2007
Julia Child's long-time editor, Judith Jones, discusses French cooking, the joys of eating, and the indefatigable Julia Child with Sheryl Julian, Food Editor of The Boston Globe. Her new memoir is The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food. This forum is presented in conjunction with our current exhibit, Jacqueline Kennedy Entertains: The Art of the White House Dinner.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
November 16, 2007
Eunice Kennedy Shriver's children -- Robert, Maria, Mark, and Anthony -- discuss their mother's many accomplishments with Harvard Law School Professor Mary Ann Glendon. Eunice Kennedy Shriver is the founder and Honorary Chairperson of Special Olympics and sister of President John F. Kennedy.

Honoring Soldiers in Iraq | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
November 11, 2007
Martha Raddatz, ABC's chief White House correspondent, discusses her coverage of the war in Iraq and her new book "The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family." Veteran journalist and NECN Anchor Chet Curtis moderates.

Richard N. Goodwin | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
November 4, 2007
Richard N. Goodwin, an advisor and speechwriter to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, shares memories and reflects on the changes in the political landscape since the 1960s.  His wife, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, will moderates.

South Africa | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
October 30, 2007
Archbishop Desmond Tutu,  Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall and Justice Richard Goldstone, who served on The Constitutional Court of South Africa, examine the long road toward freedom and justice in South Africa.  Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr . moderates.

Cuban Missile Crisis | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
October 17, 2007
On 45th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis,  Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Counsel and Adviser to President John F. Kennedy, shares his memories of some of the most harrowing days in U.S. history with  Graham Allison, Professor of Government at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Jackie Robinson Tribute | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
October 16, 2007
Jackie Robinson's daughter, Sharon Robinson, Director of Educational Programming for Major League Baseball, and Scott Simon, author of Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball,  pay tribute to Robinson during this 60th anniversary year of his having broken the color barrier in Major League Baseball.  Tom Oliphant, former Boston Globe columnist and author of Praying for Gil Hodges: A Memoir of the 1955 World Series and One Family's Love of the Brooklyn Dodgers, moderates.

Ken Burns | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
September 28, 2007
Filmmaker Ken Burns shows excerpts from and discussed his new documentary about World War II, The War, with veteran journalist and news commentator Mike Barnicle.

Exploring Space | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
September 17, 2007
September 12th marks the 45 th anniversary of President Kennedy's Rice University speech about the importance of space exploration.  NASA Astronaut and Needham, Massachusetts native Sunita Williams shares her experiences about having been a crew member on the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle, and having set a new record for the longest spaceflight by a woman.  Robin Young, host of WBUR's Here & Now , moderates.

Alan Alda | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
September 10, 2007
Alan Alda discusses his memoir "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself" chronicling the turbulent 1960s to the aftermath of 9/11, with former Boston Globe columnist Tom Oliphant.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
September 4, 2007
Before launching her journalism career, Charlayne Hunter-Gault made civil rights history as the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Georgia in 1962.  Ms. Hunter-Gault discusses her trailblazing career, changes in broadcast journalism, and her life in South Africa, with Gwen Ifill,  host of the PBS program Washington Week.

The Art of Entertaining | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
June 18, 2007
In conjunction with the exhibit Jacqueline Kennedy Entertains: The Art of the White House Dinner, Judith Martin , a.k.a. Miss Manners, pays tribute to Mrs. Kennedy's legendary skills as a hostess.  Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Boston Globe, moderates.

Rachel Carson Centennial | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
June 2, 2007
May 27, 2007 is the centennial of Rachel Carson's birth.  Her book, Silent Spring, transformed our nation and its understanding of the dangers of pesticide use.  In response to the issues she raised, President Kennedy appointed a special Science Advisory committee that subsequently affirmed her findings.  Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, delivers opening remarks.  Professor E.O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist; and Roland Clement, former Vice President of the Audubon Society and Carson's defender during the 1950s and 1960s, discuss Carson's life and legacy.  Annick Smith, nature writer and co-producer of A River Runs Through It,  moderates.

Darfur: Not On Our Watch | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
May 4, 2007
Actor/Activist Don Cheadle ( Hotel Rwanda, Traffic, Crash ) and John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group, discuss their book, Not On Our Watch, about the genocide in Darfur and individuals who have raised awareness to stop the suffering. Liz Walker, host of Sunday with Liz Walker,  moderates.

Challenges in Iraq | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
April 17, 2007
March 2007 marked the fourth anniversary of the U.S. military intervention in Iraq.   Ali Allawi, former Minister of Defense and Minister of Finance in the Iraqi Transitional Government; Ambassador Barbara Bodine, who has spent most of her career in the Middle East, most recently as a coordinator for post-conflict reconstruction in Iraq; and, Ambassador Peter Galbraith, author of The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End discuss the situation in Iraq today.  Boston Globe reporter Kevin Cullen  moderates.

Faith and Politics | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
March 18, 2007
Former Lt. Governor of Maryland and eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, discusses her new book Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way with Harvard Professor Michael Sandel.  John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center, moderates.

Reflections on the 20th Century | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
March 12, 2007
Born on May 29, 1917, John F. Kennedy would have turned 90 years old this spring. NPR Senior News Analyst, Daniel Schorr, former New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis, and historian Jill Ker Conway look back at the 20th century and reflect on the changes that have shaped and changed our nation and the world since President Kennedy's death.  Scott Simon, host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, moderates.

The UN in the Era of American World Power | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
February 25, 2007
James Traub discusses his new book The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power with Gillian Sorensen, Senior Adviser at the United Nations Foundation and Iqbal Riza, former Chief of Staff to Secretary General Kofi Annan.  Nancy Soderberg, who served in President Clinton's National Security Council and was an Alternate Representative to the United Nations, moderates.

Presidential Speechwriters | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
February 19, 2007
Theodore Sorensen, Special Counsel and speechwriter for President Kennedy, Ray Price,  speechwriter for President Nixon,  Ted Widmer, foreign policy speechwriter for President Clinton, and Chriss Winston, Director of the Office of Speechwriting for President George H.W. Bush, discuss the art of capturing the president's voice, communicating his ideas, and inspiring the public.  They share memories of the presidents with whom they worked and clips from their favorite speeches.  Linda Wertheimer, NPR's National Senior Correspondent, moderates.

A Tribute to August Wilson | Click to listen (RealAudio) | Right-click to download (MP3)
January 15, 2007
Charles Dutton , the actor twice nominated for a Tony Award for his performances in August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Piano Lesson; and Dwight Andrews, the musical director for several of Wilson's Broadway productions, pay tribute to the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who passed away in October 2005.  Wilson's cycle of ten prize-winning plays chronicles the lives of African Americans throughout the 20th century.  Elvis Mitchell, entertainment critic for NPR's Weekend Edition with Scott Simon, will moderates.

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